The theme of the 45th Tokyo Motor Show was ‘Beyond The Motor’ and in terms of motive force at the Show it was certainly ‘Beyond the internal combustion Motor!’ with the electricification of trucks and cars being the central theme from just about every maker.
Fuso clearly took the lead in the truck realm with its E-FUSO Vision One and e-Canter models as you will read about elsewhere here.
As some observed at Tokyo the Vision One could really be a marker for the truck industry, a turning point that the industry will look back on as being major leap forward into the future and something that will change the face of trucking. The over used term ‘Game Changer’ was trotted out by Head of Daimler Trucks Asia, Marc Llistosella on the Fuso stand, but in this case it really could be just that.
While there were myriad car models proposed with electric drivetrains, the difficulties of weight and range for trucks means that it seems that some truck makers are waiting to see what happens while Fuso has jumped straight in and could be the leader in the field for some time to come, time will only tell.
It is clear that the industry has seen the writing on the wall and it has turned the wheel in the direction of a low or zero emission future. The next few years promises to be a really fascinating and enthralling time as new technologies are developed and nurtured to make all of this possible.
Plug me in, turn me on because this is going to be one hell of a ride.
To paraphrase a Roilling Stone story of the 1970s, I have seen the future of trucks and it is electric.